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Customs and excise records

Introduction

Many of the customs and excise records are held by the National
Archives of Scotland (NAS). This series forms a valuable resource for genealogical
and historical research. The chapter on ports in 'Tracing Scottish local history
in the Scottish Record Office' by Cecil J Sinclair describes in more detail the
information which can be obtained from these records. Two further publications
which illustrate how customs and excise records can be used for family history
are Frances Wilkins, 'Family histories in Scottish customs records' (Kidderminster,
1993) and Frances Wilkins, 'Scottish customs and excise records with particular
reference to Strathclyde' (Kidderminster, 1992).

Customs records
before 1707

Customs records before the Union of 1707 are to be found in the
records of the Scottish Exchequer (NAS reference (ref.) E38, E71-74). The customs
books (NAS ref. E71-72), which record the duties levied on goods carried by ships
into and out of individual ports, can include names of ships' masters (but not
crews) and merchants.

Customs staff records after 1707

The names
and salaries of customs officers (excluding junior clerks and crews of cutters)
who were employed at headquarters and at each Scottish port between 1715 and 1822
are recorded quarterly in the Scottish Customs establishment books (NAS ref. CE3).
Separate establishment books record the names and salaries of customs officers
employed in the collection of salt duty at headquarters and at various Scottish
ports between 1714 and 1798 (NAS ref. CE12). The letter books of the Board and
of the local customs out ports can provide further information not only about
revenue officers and their families, but also about persons in other occupations
such as merchants, tobacconists, mariners, ship owners, farmers and fish curers.
As these names are not indexed staff at the NAS cannot search them on behalf of
enquirers.

Excise staff records after 1707

Unfortunately most
of the official staff (and other) records of the Scottish Excise were lost in
a fire in the 19th century. To try and fill this gap, Mr J F Mitchell compiled
information about excise officers between 1707 and 1830 from the surviving records
held in the National Archives of Scotland and from other sources. The result was
his biographical card index, which can be consulted in the NAS's Historical Search Room
on microfilm (NAS ref. RH4/6/1-2). NAS also holds a list of all excise officers
in 1743 (NAS ref. GD1/54/10). The Scottish Excise registers of appointments and
removals, 1813-1829, are held by the NAS and contain excerpts from Board minutes
concerning staff appointments, dismissals and removals (NAS ref. CE13). The Scottish
Excise establishment minute books contain staff details for the period of the
subordinate Scottish board between 1824 and 1830 (NAS ref. CE16). The records
also include a list of all officers in 1794, noting the age of the officer and
the number of his family (NAS ref. CE6/19).

Shipping registers

Ships
and fishing boats must be registered in a port of registry before they can be
navigated. Local customs officers frequently maintained shipping registers and
sea fishing boat registers on behalf of the Registrar-General of Seamen from 1786,
and surviving registers of these ports are included among the Customs and Excise
records. Though the information contained in shipping registers can vary, they
usually record the names of ships, their owners and changes in ownership, the
ship's master and a basic description of the vessel, including the year it was
built and its size and tonnage. Some shipping registers are also held at local
customs offices. Staff in the NAS can advise enquirers about particular local
holdings. Local customs officers were often appointed Receivers of Wrecks and
also carried out work on behalf of the Royal Naval Reserve.

On the west coast
of Scotland the shipping registers were generally maintained by the Fishery Offices.
Some of these registers of fishing boats, which fall within the years 1869-1988,
are included in the Fishery Board records (NAS ref. AF17-36). Annual lists of
Scottish fishing vessels between 30 and 79.9 feet from 1965 onwards are contained
in the files (NAS ref. AF62) of the former Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
for Scotland (DAFS), and some are also held in the Scottish Government's Library.
These lists give the boat's name, port of registration, registered number, year
built, length, tonnage, horsepower, and the DAFS vessel code and base district.
From about 1980 DAFS and its successors have published The Scottish Fishing Fleet,
including additional information such as the vessel type and fishing method, producer
organisation, and the numbers (but not the names) of crew. Copies are available
in the NAS from 1983 (NAS ref. AF87/2), in copyright libraries such as the National
Library of Scotland and the British Library and in the Scottish Government's Library.
Recent lists are available for purchase from the Stationery Office. Please note
that records of the Fishery Board are generally closed for 30 years from
the last date of each record. In effect this means that most records more recent
than the 1960s are not open to the public. Shipping registers and registers of
sea fishing boats are open to access. Further sources for tracing the history
of ships are Lloyd's Register of Shipping and the Mercantile Navy List. Complete
sets of both are held by the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London EC2P 2EJ.
Information on Lloyd's Register of Shipping can be obtained from their website.

Customs and excise records not held in the NAS

The records of some
customs out ports and excise districts have been retransmitted to local authority
archives. These are listed below:

Repository and place

Reference
number

Aberdeen City Archives

Aberdeen
Outport and District

CE87/4/38-45

Aberdeen Outport and District

CE87/11/1-43

Dumfries and Galloway Archives

Dumfries Outport

CE51/1/18-20

Dumfries Outport

CE51/3/4-12

Dumfries Outport

CE51/4/9

Dumfries Outport

CE51/11/2-11

Kirkcudbright Creek shipping registers

CE51/5/16-17

Langholm Station

CE51/10/1

Lockerbie Station

CE51/10/2

Stranraer Outport

CE77/11/1-6

Wigtown Outport

CE61/11/1-4

Dundee City Archives

Arbroath Outport and District

CE80/1/1

Arbroath Outport and District

CE80/2/1-67

Arbroath Outport and District

CE80/4/1-17

Arbroath Outport and District

CE80/11/1-10

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/1/1-70

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/2/1-172

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/3/1-22

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/4/1-30

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/62-90

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/111-116

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/119-125

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/129-198

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/5/1

Dundee Outport and District

CE70/11/1-27

Dundee Outport and District

CE60/12/1-24

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/1/1-34

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/2/1-97

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/3/1-7

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/4/1-8

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/5/1

Montrose Outport and District

CE53/11/1-6,
9

Glasgow City Council Archives

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/1/1-52

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/2/1-15

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/4/1-13

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/5/1-2

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/7/1-14

Ayr Outport and District

CE76/10/1-8

Campbeltown Outport
and District

CE82/1/1-48

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/2/1-112

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/3/1-4

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/4/1-40

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/6/1-34

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/7/1

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/9/1-4

Campbeltown Outport and District

CE82/11/1-7

Dumfries Outport

CE51/11/1

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/1/1-59

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/2/1-99

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/3/1-54

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/4/1-115

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/5/1-5

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/10/1-7

Glasgow Outport and District

CE59/11/1-68

Irvine Outport and District

CE71/1/1-24

Irvine Outport and District

CE71/2/1-60

Irvine Outport and District

CE71/4/1-3

Irvine Outport and District

CE71/5/1-5

Oban Outport and District

CE75/1/1,

Oban Outport and District

CE75/2/1-3

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/1/1-114

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/2/1-402

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/3/1

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/4/1-45

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/5/1-3

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/7/1-3

Port Glasgow and Greenock

CE60/8/1

Rothesay Outport and District

CE73/1/1-6

Rothesay Outport and District

CE73/2/1-17

Tobermory Outport and District

CE74/2/1-14

Troon Outport and District

CE72/1/1-2

Troon Outport and District

CE72/2/1-50

Troon Outport and District

CE72/4/1

Orkney Library and Archives

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/1/1-27

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/2/1-51

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/
3/1-21

Kirkwall Outport and
District

CE55/4/1-20

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/4/22-51

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/4/53-60

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/10/1-10

Kirkwall Outport and District

CE55/11/1-

Perth and Kinross Council Archive

Blairgowrie Outport and District

CE79/6/1-6

Blairgowrie Outport and District

CE79/7/1-2

Blairgowrie Outport and District

CE79/9/1-7

Perth Outport and District

CE52/1/1-22

Perth Outport and District

CE52/2/1-66

Perth Outport and District

CE52/4/1-3

Perth Outport and District

CE52/8/1-3

Perth Outport and District

CE52/9/1

Perth Outport and District

CE52/11/1-6

Shetland Archives

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/1/1-63

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/2/1-108

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/3/1-27

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/4/1-46

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/5/1

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/6/1-6

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/7/1-2

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/8/1-19

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/9/1-2

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/10/1-2

Lerwick Outport and District

CE85/11/1-21

You can use the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) website's directory
of Scottish archives to find contact details for the archives services listed
above.